Wednesday Wind Up, a community effort put on by Downtown Phoenix Inc., the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department and partners, brought local businesses to Civic Space Park to interact with members of the community.
The Aug. 27 kickoff begins a weekly endeavor that will bring food trucks, local business booths and special offers to a single location. The park serves as a hub to activate the area and make it easier for locals to get involved with various Phoenix businesses.
Mira Word, a member of Downtown Phoenix Inc.’s event coordination team, said Wednesday Wind Up stemmed from the phrase, “by the community, for the community.” She said she hopes this will help the community become closer knit.
Word hopes this event will soon grow into something just as prominent as Food Truck Friday, she said.
The event was aided by Downtown Phoenix Inc.’s community and partners, such as Roosevelt Row, Fair Trade and Bookmans, Word said.
The park was alive with music, food and games. Booths by businesses such as Local First Arizona and the Downtown Phoenix Partnership told attendees about upcoming local events, including the Chile Pepper Festival that returns to the downtown area on Sept. 27.
Coiffeur’s Salon offered free hair curling, Bookmans had a “make your own bookmark” project and several other small businesses came to engage with their Phoenix neighbors.
Each week, new food trucks and businesses will set up booths to make it convenient for students and members of the community to sample and shop in a marketplace instead of making trips to multiple locations.
Colleen Helman, a member and co-creator of the Downtown Phoenix Church said getting involved with community events, first and foremost, means you’re getting involved in people’s lives.
“Getting involved with people ultimately means helping our community become better,” Helman said.
Downtown Phoenix Inc. events coordinator Sara Anderson said the opportunity to bring all sorts of community members to one area creates networking opportunities.
“From the CEO of the Phoenix Suns to students from the university, we want everyone to have a seat at the table,” Anderson said. “This is a great way to build the community that we want.”
Continuous events that bring people together will help build a better downtown Phoenix, Anderson said. She hopes that connecting people from all different corners of the area will bring more events, small businesses and great ideas to the city, she added.
“People in Phoenix have imaginations that run wild,” Anderson said. “We want them to take their ideas and then implement them into the community.”
Anderson said she hopes these partnerships within the community will raise the confidence level of the local community.
This concept is becoming more prevalent in the downtown scene. Anderson said Downtown Phoenix Inc. was recently able to help make an idea from local businessmen into a reality by connecting them with the Japanese Friendship Garden. Based on the theme of toilet breaks that are celebrated in the Japanese culture, “Toilet Day” will be coming to Phoenix in November.
“An engaged community can do a lot to enhance the development of character in downtown Phoenix,” Anderson said.
Contact the reporter at amelia.goe@asu.edu
